Approx Labour Time For Clutch Rrplacement

[peteoddcar]

One of our mates might need the clutch replacing on his SE - he’s trying to establish how many hours a garage ( non Lotus specialist should charge ) is it quite a straight forward job no need guess specialist ?
Thanks

[Tuga2112]

the elan clutch was the first clutch job i done (on the blue car). and it took me 2 days back then with a crappy floor jack and at least 3 phone calls to Dave... this was nearly 10 years ago.

i suspect if i was to do it today it would be a 3/4 of a day's worth if you were asking me to do the job id be quoting 6-8 hours.

speaking of clutches.. i suspect mine is on the way out. so in the next few months theres a chance if you ask the same question you will get some accurate estimate instead of a vague memory

[Fredjohn]

The Workshop Labour Times manual, available here in the Manuals section, quotes 4hrs.
Make allowances for your local garage.

[peteoddcar]

Doh !
I forgot we had labour times in the manuals section!
Sorry to waste people’s time

[dapinky]

Pete, whilst I can't comment on forgetting things - we all do that - the manual is obviously (YOU should know these things) written for people working on a new car with clean fittings which come undone, and in an ideal workshop, with factory training......

...... it's not done on a real car in a domestic garage where the "mechanic" is searching for a suitable sized bent spoon to prise something out of the way to get a metric (nearly equivalent) socket on a bolt they can't see.

That said, it is also written (or at least, overseen) by the bean-counters who want their service centres to be able to give accurate estimates to their customers, and don't want to give misleading ideas on times. Well, I suppose it is probably done more for workshop time planning than customer convenience, but anyway......

..... the point being, a competent person, who is not faced with a lack of tools or seized bolts, ought to be able to do any listed job in the same sort of time. By competent, I don't mean the likes of Joao and I who will have a go at anything and add on other jobs as we go along because we've just seen them - I mean a paid mechanic at any local garage in the land. Someone who has the skills and experience to overcome minor niggles, not add on unnecessary work, and fits clutches on a semi-regular basis.

As such, I would expect you (or whoever) to be quoted somewhere in the 4-5 hours range, plus parts.

Personally, I can't tell you, as it is a job I have only done whilst doing other stuff, and having the engine/gearbox out of the car - and that leads on to loads of other jobs "while it's out of the way, maybe I'll just......."

That said, I did help Iain (Blacknight) many years ago on his driveway - and it wasn't anything harder than any other car (unless your 'other car' was a Mk 1 Astra where you don't need to remove the gearbox from the engine - oh, how easy were they?? - an hour all in, tops!).

It isn't necessary to remove the gearbox from the car entirely, as it can be manoeuvred around in the space to get to the clutch - but it is probably easier to drop it out of the way if working on ramps anyway.

As a hint, it is worthwhile thinking about having a couple of new oil seals on hand to replace the driveshaft seals. They are very easy to change when the unit is out of the car, but if you put it back together and find there is a bit of a weep as the old seal had settled into a position and hardened, they *can* be changed in situ, but it isn't easy - especially if you need to order some. They should be available from a suitable supplier (I get mine from Rockauto, but the part number is SKF 13750 and that or alternatives are listed online). I always replace them whenever I disturb a driveshaft if there is any doubt about the age/condition of the current ones.

Another thought, I'd drain the gearbox and whilst it's out, I'd remove (or at least loosen) the 'D' plug for refilling it, so when refitted, you can ad 1.81L of new oil through that hole, and not have to mess about with the speedo drive (even thought he speedo drive will need to be removed to get the box out, so maybe it is just me finding work for myself!!!!)

[peteoddcar]

Thanks Dave
Easiest clutch I ever did - Austin Maxi about 45 minutes !
Anyway it’s not for me but Dave from Brighton who’s in our local M100 group initiated with Chris M.
Fingers crossed my car is ok having had a clutch just before I bought it at about 65k. Now 89k
Doing the Shere Hill Climb again this year but might not let my son drive it as last time he got the front wheels spinning off the line!